Winter is a time of year where it not only gets cold and dark but we see a rise in our heating and lighting bills.
The cold nights means we need the central heating on for a lot longer while the darkness keeps us indoors using more lighting and power.
But winter is a good time to look at some of the ways we produce heat for our homes - and lighting - and look to cheaper more eco friendly solutions.
Heating is something that we can't do without in the winter but it is also by far the largest expense when it comes to our fuel bills so reducing what we spend on heating can go a long way to saving some money.
There are alternatives to conventional central heating that can be used in some rooms for providing heat, or even cooking.
Log burning fires and stoves may produce smoke when they burn fuel but this is far less damaging to the environment that the emissions produced from the power stations where we get the rest of our power.
And you can even burn waste material such as old newspaper, cardboard and even garden waste.
This is best done by using a log maker that will compact the waste matter and produce more heat and less smoke.
For those that can't have an open fire regular central heating can be boosted to be more efficient - producing more heat for less power.
The first thing that needs to be checked is the boiler; an inefficient boiler will be wasting money so it is important to get a boiler regularly serviced.
Radiators too should be bled regularly and automatic radiator valves can do this for you - save you forget.
The radiators themselves can be boosted using radiator panels.
These will reflect the heat from the rear of the radiator boosting the heat inside the room.
And by ensuring all your light bulbs are energy saving bulbs, these methods can help you reduce your winter bills, saving you money and being kind to the environment too.